Avoid embarrassment with professional translations

Juli 9, 2012April 18, 2018

In business, image is key. If you don’t come across in the right way, you may stand little chance of enjoying the success you’re after. Therefore, if and when you need to make use of Arabic translations, French translations and so on, it’s important you select a provider you can trust.

If you don’t use a professional translation specialist, you might end up red faced. Indeed, a new website dedicated to highlighting translation mistakes demonstrates this perfectly.

Lost in translation

Showcasing some amusing errors made by firms as they try and fail to translate words and phrases correctly, Engrish.com illustrates the importance of using reliable and accurate translators. It has compiled a list of some of the most bizarre English translations discovered and photographed by travellers as they explore the world.

An article in the Daily Mail drew attention to some of the humorous gaffes, but while it is easy to laugh as an outsider, the managers of the companies involved will no doubt be feeling somewhat sheepish.

Examples abound

There’s certainly no shortage of examples for the website owners to include. One of the snaps shows a restaurant sign in Korea that states “crotch steamed fish” and a bra in Japan has been advertised as offering “dairy comfort”. Also, a sign pictured in Indonesia warns of an “accident porn area”.

Meanwhile, consumers looking at a message in Korea may be a little confused when they read: “The direction of companion mind should cooperate with rescue at lighting of red lamp, or a buzzer. Please give me a connection from a nearby extraordinary telephone.”

Another sign that may cause alarm stated “emergency exist”. Also, a notice in China seemed to indicate that grass in the country is particularly modest. It stated: “The small grass is feel ashamed to smile, please don’t bother it.” A further mistake in China involved a sign on a bus that confusingly informed onlookers to: “Please take the initiative for bringing invalidity pregnant parks.”

Other classics included:

Avoid the same pitfalls

Although these linguistic errors may have brought a smile to your face, you’re no doubt keen to ensure your firm doesn’t fall into the same trap. Whether you need to make use of Arabic translations, French translations or anything else, it’s crucial that the end results are accurate and reflect well on your business, rather than turning it into a laughing stock.

After all, while it can take many years of effort and success to create a positive image for your enterprise, sadly it doesn’t take very much at all to tarnish this hard-earned reputation.

You can trust us

Here at Wolfestone we’re fully aware of the importance of offering a superb standard of translation and that’s precisely what we do.

When you come to us in search of professional translation assistance, you can rest assured you’ll benefit from the very best. This means you can enjoy total peace of mind.